Internal Parasites

A parasite is a living organism that is dependent on a host and undernormal conditions co-exists with it’s host. Internal parasites (endoparasites) live inside the host. Let’s take a closer look at the type of endoparasites your pet may encounter.

Heartworms: Heartworm disease is the accumulation of adult worms in the heartof cats and dogs. The disease is transmitted from one animal by infected mosquitoes.

Undetected heartworm disease can be fatal. Heartworm has been diagnosed in 9 Canadian provinces and in every state except Hawaii. Heartworm can easily be prevented by giving your pet a once a month prevention medication from spring to fall. In British Columbia, we recommend to start using heartworm prevention by June thru until November. For those of you who travel with your pets over the winter months to infected areas, it would be recommended to keep them on preventive medication year round.

Roundworms: Commonly transmitted through mother’s milk to kittens and puppies. Also spread by ingestion of contaminated sources such as soil, vegetation or rodents. They interfere with digestion and absorption of nutrients and can cause diarrhea, vomiting, stunted growth, rough coat, bloated belly and may be life threatening to very young or sick pets.

Tapeworms: Usually transmitted when a dog or cat ingests a flea while grooming. Fleas in general are immediate hosts of the tapeworm egg. Cats can also get tapeworm if they hunt rats and mice and for this reason it is recommended to treat for tapeworms whenever dealing with fleas also.

Hookworms: Pets can ingest infective larvae from soil or vegetation contaminated by feces or the larvae can penetrate through the skin of pet’s feet. They migrate to the gut and attach to the intestinal lining leaving bleeding internal wounds which can cause anemia and diarrhea. As few as 100 hookworms can be fatal to a puppy.

Whipworms: Transmitted when dogs ingest infective eggs from soil or vegetation combined with feces. These worms burrow into the large intestine causing severe bowel inflammation. In large numbers, they cause bloody diarrhea, anemia, dehydration and loss of appetite. Eggs are passed into feces and can survive for many years in soil. Whipworms are very difficult to eradicate.  

Did you know your pet can give you worms?!

They certainly can!! We, especially children, can infect ourselves simply by touching our mouths with the hand that we hug our companion pets with. Our pets easily become infected by ingesting eggs or larva picked up from contaminated soil, vegetation and feces. Fleas carry eggs of tapeworms and pets ingest them while grooming themselves. Pets that hunt are also at risk. We recommend your pet be treated at regular intervals order to avoid this health hazard. Please talk to us about a suitable deworming program.

Things You Should Know About Zoonotic Diseases:

Parasitic zoonoses are parasitic infections in animals that can be transmitted to people and may cause disease. These parasites cause a variety of conditions depending on the parasite, route of infection, person’s age and immune status, and size of infectious dose. They may include skin irritations, nausea, organ damage, neurological disorders and blindness. We may become infected through accidental ingestion of fecal contaminated food or infected animal feces. We may become infected when our pet licks us on the mouth! Most at risk are young children, people with puppies or kittens in the household, people with poor hygiene habits, people working with pets, pet owners who do not routinely deworm their pets and people with compromised immune systems.

Most pet owners do not know that intestinal worms of pets may infect people and therefore are not aware of how to take precautionary measures.

Here are some ways to avoid infection:

• Do not put contaminated objects or hands in mouth or near eyes.
• Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly
• Do not allow children to play near contaminated soil or in open sandboxes
• Wash hands after handling animals
• Promptly dispose of fecal material
• Practice good flea control

** Most importantly- routinely deworm your  pets**